It wasn’t even close. Dominican home-run king Sammy Sosa won the National League’s "Most Valuable Player" (MVP) award yesterday in a landslide victory. He received 30 out of 32 first-place votes and 438 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. His rival in the famous home-run rivalry of this year’s Major League season, Mark McGwire, received the other two first-place votes, both from St. Louis-based writers, where McGwire plays for the Cardinals. Sosa and McGwire had both broken Roger Maris’ seasonal home run record of 61, but McGwire hit 70 homers to Sosa’s 66. Nonetheless, Sosa has been the heavy favorite in speculation of recent weeks. Sosa is the second Dominican to win an MVP honor: George Bell, also from San Pedro de Macorís, won American League MVP in 1987, the same year that was the last time a Chicago Cubs player (Andre Dawson) won the National League MVP. This year the American League MVP was won by a fellow Latin, Puerto Rico’s Juan "Igor" González, who plays for the Texas Rangers. Upon being notified of his victory, Sammy, awaiting word in Chicago, characteristically immediately called his mother in San Pedro to share the news. He told reporters that "if I could have voted, I would have voted for Mark [McGwire]." He dedicated his win to the fans of Chicago, but said he would return to the Dominican Republic today to celebrate with the Dominican people. Sammy Sosa is expected to be present in his hometown San Pedro de Macorís, when Mrs. Hillary Clinton visits today. Next on his agenda is a visit to the White House where he will be received by President Bill Clinton.
